TestaRossa

It's not so much the installation or the unit cost I think as the running costs. Electricity and gas are soooo expensive here in Italy that having the a/c on just for a few hours a day and not every day, in July added over a €100 to my bill for the two month period I used them in. I normally pay about €100/month for my electricity year around, so an increase of 50% is pretty steep I think you will agree!

surly

That is high, my gas and electric bill for the year averages out to just under $100/month. That's with no restrictions on heating and cooling, that is I heat or cool the house as needed. Fortunately here in Northern California we have low humidity and cool night time temps.
Probably not a lot of business opportunities for HVAC contractors in Italy then, just a thought.

TestaRossa

Wow, I won't even begin to talk about my gas bill then!! Think in K's per year and you will only just get the picture!!

I think most new builds here have a/c and restorations, particularly where it isn't an Italian doing the work. Also holiday lets have a/c and then the landlord bills the electricity at the end of the stay as an extra or the rent is jacked up to take it into account. So to say there is no call I think is not necessarily correct but you would need to research area to find out where most of this kind of work is being done. My guess would be Puglia, Umbria and Abruzzo - these are popular holiday/2nd home areas for non-Italians and they also get good summer temperatures. Someone on here was also talking about the "heat pump" option - some are using these units instead of gas heating. I have this option with my units but again found them an expensive option and not very effective.